bonebond.jpg
A lot of you may have had the experience of receiving a savings bond in a paper envelope from grandma or grandpa on your birthday or another special occasion growing up. (AP Photo/file)

U.S. savings bonds go paperless

BY Chris Sullivan  on May 21, 2012 @ 4:38 am (Updated: 6:25 am - 5/21/12 )

A popular birthday and holiday gift has gone paperless, leaving the present a little hollow. You can no longer purchase a new savings bond that you can hold in your hand.

A lot of you may have had the experience of receiving a savings bond in a paper envelope from grandma or grandpa on your birthday or another special occasion growing up.

It wasn't worth the amount printed at the time, but you knew you were holding something that would be worth $25 or $50 or $100 in a few years.

But kids can no longer have that experience. Paper savings bonds are history. The paper version is gone as of this year.

You can't go to a bank and get one. You can't order one from the Treasury Department.

Savings bonds went all-electronic on January 1.

That means no more envelopes from grandparents, and no more paper bond to hold. All you can do is show your child their balance on a computer screen.

Jerry Kelly, with the US Treasury Department, said going paperless will save the federal government about $120 million over the next five years.

"The savings come from postage we spend to mail the bonds to customers, the fees we pay to banks and other agents to process the sales orders, as well as some work on our end to process the sales orders, and customer service work after the fact," he said.

To give a bond today, you have to go online and register. It takes about ten minutes, if you're computer literate. But my 79-year-old dad had a lot of trouble getting it going, and he's on his laptop every day.

Kelly said they have gotten complaints about the new system.

"We heard some frustration stories," said Kelly.

But he believes the convenience of online system will win over customers in the long run.

"No longer do you have to toddle down to your bank," he said. "You can do it from the convenience of your home after you spend that 10 minutes or so setting up your account. You're ready to go."

The Treasury Department is already seeing an increase in people buying bonds this year as compared to last.

But I can tell you, getting a note from grandpa saying, 'I bought you a savings bond' is no where near as satisfying as holding one in your hand.

Chris Sullivan, KIRO Radio Reporter
Chris loves the rush of covering breaking news and works hard to try to make sense of it all while telling stories about real people in extraordinary circumstances.
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Comments (10)


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  • xplanes wrote...
    Not worth the paper they are printed on....
    May 21, 2012 5:30 am
    takes on a whole new meaning now.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • MainEvent wrote...
    10 minutes my butt
    May 21, 2012 5:44 am
    I tried to register online a year ago and it was the most god-aweful worthless website i have ever been on. Just trying to look up bonds that were already purchased in my name was the pain. I had to submit for a keycard they mail to your house.....3 weeks later i could finally use this stupid battleship keycard to put into the online system to then look up my information. It was infuriating and this is coming from someone who grew up in the computer age and understands how they work....
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • artimus wrote...
    Art Bell - where are you when we need you.
    May 21, 2012 5:48 am
    This'll get the loonies all hot and bothered.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • ron prevost wrote...
    WOW - a LOT easier to lose than those old paper bonds in grandma's safety deposit box !
    May 21, 2012 6:12 am
    Regardless, why bother ? A 2 year bond pays 0.27% and a 5 year bond still only 0.82%. Not until you buy a 10 year bond do you get as much as 1.88% (down from 3.2% a year ago). Better that the back yard, but..... And certainly no hedge if an when inflation ever returns. ......................... Why bother ???????
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • anotherfencewalker wrote...
    No paper trail..
    May 21, 2012 7:17 am
    I can see fraud,government waste and ineptness all over this great money saving idea. How is it going to feel when you "log on" to that easy to use government website to check on your bond value only to see that it's nowhere to be found? Passing judgement? I dont think so.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • londot wrote...
    I loved them
    May 21, 2012 8:04 am
    I had them taken from my pay for years when I was in the service (almost mandatory)...I enjoyed having them..for me it was a way to save or put aside money. After a few years they became easier to cash and up until a few short years ago I still used them as emergency stash...I too tried their online system and after several tries gave up.Gees what a poorly designed system/process. Now I go with-out but miss those bonds! For me it wasn’t about the return (I only bought a 100 bond each month, for 50.00) it was about just doing my part to invest in my country…silly as it seems today. Years ago it was important!!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • CH wrote...
    It wasn't worth the amount printed at the time . . . .
    May 21, 2012 8:26 am
    still is to day. Worthless!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • A Man Watching wrote...
    US Bonds
    May 21, 2012 8:36 am
    Boy, people sure are skeptical! You simply need to trust Obama, is that so hard? Chuckle... Maybe we could put Obama's image on the penny, then it would be appropriate to use the term "Not worth one RED cent!".
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • xplanes wrote...
    Google historic inflation rates....
    May 21, 2012 10:07 am
    They never kept up with inflation. The Government always payed back the bonds with dollars that were worth less than the principle even after counting in the interest earned. Better than a whole in the ground, but just barely.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • roomtemp wrote...
    I'd say...
    May 21, 2012 11:10 am
    You'd be dumber than a sack of hammers to buy bonds...

    Except the sack of hammers has a higher appreciation rate, so maybe that phrase doesn't work anymore.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }